French police are considering whether the deaths of a British couple in the French countryside could have been a murder-suicide. Andrew and Dawn Searle, who were both in their 60s, were discovered in horrifying circumstances in Les Pesquiès, in south western France, on Thursday afternoon.

The pair, named on Friday as Andrew and Dawn Searle, moved to south west France from Scotland about a decade ago. The local mayor, Jean-Sébastien Orcibal, told French television that the deaths were "clearly a homicide".

Detectives have launched a murder investigation after a retired British couple were found dead in grisly circumstances at their luxury gîte in south-west France.

A British couple in their sixties were found dead in their home in southwestern France, with prosecutors saying on Friday they died a "violent death". The bodies of the couple, who had lived in France for years,

Andrew and Dawn Searles have been named after their bodies were found by their neighbour in the hamlet of Les Pesquiès, in south western France.